The People You Meet in Fever Dreams
by something someone said
Summary: Natsuki wakes with a fever and, in between fits of consciousness, is cared for by his sister and friends. But when he falls asleep he dreams of a strange beach and an even stranger person.


Disclaimer: I don't own Tsuritama.

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The day's itinerary flashed through Natsuki's mind as he awoke. First he would go out for a run, then he'd make breakfast for Sakura. After that he'd catch the train for school and talk to Yuki and Haru about which fishing spot they'd tackle that day. After school, he would work his shift at Hemming Way, then he, Yuki and Haru would cast until sunset. After, he'd pick up ingredients for that night's dinner. Sakura said she wanted udon with tempura tonight.

So it was set then. He got ready to rise and was struck down again by the lack of strength in his arms. His head felt heavy and he was burning.

Another attempt. He made his arms ready, balling his hands into fists, and pushed off the bed. This time the room spun, the ceiling fell on its side and crashed into the floor.

Dizzy, he fell and closed his eyes.

And opened them again. He was on a beach under an open, sunset sky. The clouds looked like cotton candy and spun gold and beyond that the colors warped from orange to purple to the dark blue of the universe beyond. But the beach wasn't like any in Enoshima. It was long and narrow and now that he thought about it, was more like a sandbar than a beach. It didn't seem to be connected to land. It didn't seem to be connected to anything. The purple waves lapped at his feet, warm like the bubble baths that his mother used to make for him until he had decided that he was too old for them. Yes, that kind of warmness.

There was a nagging feeling at the back of his mind that he should be doing something else, but the water felt good against his toes and the sand was the perfect bed, still retaining the sun's heat. It was pleasant here. He could fall asleep here and never wake up...

He was back in his room and Sakura was dabbing his head with a cloth dipped in ice water.

"Good, you're awake," Sakura sighed, relief rising to the surface of her words. "It looks like you have a fever.

Natsuki focused on the far wall. The ceiling was no longer trying to melt into the floor, but it did seem blurry, especially without his glasses. He tried to focus on it, but it only became more blurred. Then his sister was waving something in front of his face.

"Say ahhh," she said, as she stuck the thermometer into his mouth. He held the metal beneath his toungue until he heard the little, tell-tale beep.

"Yep," Sakura said. "A fever of 38°C. I'll call your teacher and tell him you can't come in today."

"Sakura..." he whispered and was surprised by the effort it took to speak those three familiar syllables. But she either didn't hear him or ignored him, making her way out of the room. Sometimes it was hard to remember that she wasn't a child anymore, reliant on his care. When was the last time she insisted that brother make dinner because only brother could make it just right? Now she stole the knife from him before he could cut the vegetables and the rice was always in the cooker before he even thought of reaching for the container. "I told you I got it, big brother. What else can I do?"

His head throbbed and his thoughts stopped midway. "I called," Sakura came back in. "I'm going to school now but I'll tell dad-"

"No!" He gave a horse shout and instantly regretted it as it sent his head spinning.

"But brother..."

"No, Sakura," Natsuki closed his eyes and opened them again. "I'll be fine. Dad has to run the shop."

Sakura frowned but gave a little smile. "Alright. I won't tell Dad. But you have to promise me you'll take care of yourself. I want you to rest."

Natsuki chuckled softly. "Alright. It's a promise."

He waited until he heard the front door shut until he closed his eyes again.

And he was on the beach. This time he was standing, admiring the streaks of orange and pink across the sky. A few stars were already out, twinkling pensively in the vast sweep of beyond. He looked to the water again, crests of small waves shining golden, and regretted he hadn't brought his fishing rod. But for some reason, he knew that there weren't any fish down there. Bubbles filled with memories but no fish. He stepped into the water, still ethereally warm. Before he knew it he was knee-deep, neck-deep, underneath. The water swirled around him, making him weightless and he let the current take him. Down and up became as insignificant as gravity on the moon. He delighted in the feeling, let rove over his body like the hands of a lover. And the best part was he could breath in that murky blueness. He had no worries, content to simply drift away on the tide...

He woke and it was hot, hot, hot, hot, hot. His stomach roiled and twisted in ugly knots and he knew without knowing what was going to happen next. Quickly he grabbed for the wastebasket.

When the last of the dry heaves went he realized how hungry he was. His alarm clock read 11:23 and he had missed breakfast. Still, he couldn't trust his stomach. After cleaning up he walked to the kitchen, clutching the wall for support. There he threw out the contents of his wastebasket and found an ice tea in the fridge. Putting it to his forehead, he made for his room again. His head still burned and his stomach still twisted, but sleep came quickly.

And with it the beach again. He was dripping on the shore, the water falling off his skin in riviluts. The sun had set now but the stars were bright, milky and luminescent. They formed a white band across the sky, like pearls on a sting. His mother used to have pearls, he remembered. She rarely wore them, but on special occasions she would take them out of the little blue box in her dresser and ask Natsuki to fix the clasp. He could no longer recall the smell of her perfume, but he could remember the nape of her neck, white obscured by thick, black hair. He could remember the snap of the clasp, the gold glinting ever so slightly before it was covered by that black hair. "Thank you, Nakkun. You always do it just right."

He wondered where those pearls were now. Probably still in the same place, a gift for Sakura when she was old enough. He wondered how much longer that would be. Probably not too long.

For some reason the thought filled him with extreme sadness, so he looked at the ocean to distract himself. It was calm, reflecting the stars and the moon was gently rising, forming a basin of light on the reflecting water.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" A voice said from behind him. He jumped. Standing behind him was Haru's sister, Coco. They had never been formerly introduced but Natsuki acknowledged her with a nod.

"Betcha wish you had one of those camera things."

They weren't friends, and he barely knew her, so Natsuki found it hard to continue the conversation. Yes, it was beautiful, but even if he took the picture, how would he bring it back with him. Wasn't this a-

"Oh you don't have to say it, I know already," the girl interrupted his thoughts, and for some reason Natsuki found it perfectly natural that she could read them.

"I have a fever," he said. He wasn't sure exactly who he was saying it to, but acknowledging it seemed to take a weight off.

"I see," Coco hummed. "And why do you think you have a fever?"

"I'm sick, I guess," he answered, then realized brushing it off would do no good for him. "It could have something to do with overworking myself. I've been really busy lately."

"Yeah, with a raising your sister, having a job, school and friends, anyone would be busy. I'm surprised you haven't quit already." He wasn't sure which activity she was referring to and yet the remark didn't rattle him as much as it should have.

"That would be nice," he looked at the water, the waves whispering sweet nothings to the shore. "Then I could fish all day."

He shook his head. "But I couldn't do that."

_You always make it just right, big brother._

"There would be no one else to cover for me."

"Your father." This time he could feel something, a raw nerve being probed by a needle.

"No, that's out of the question."

Coco sighed. "It was just a suggestion. Anyway, rest is always the best things for fevers. That being said, sorry that I have to wake you up now."

Before he could respond his eyes opened.

"He's awake! He's awake!"

"Quiet, Haru. He's not feeling well."

"Oh. He's awake. He's awake." Joyful whispers. "Natsuki's awake!"

Yuki and Haru sat by his bedside, Yuki squeezing out a rag before applying it to his forehead. "Sakura told us you were sick. She's making you soup right now."

Natsuki nodded. "Sorry I can't fish with you guys today. Go on ahead of me. There's a spot that..."

"No, Natsuki. Sorry isn't just a word," Haru intervened. "You can't use like that."

Yuki made to reprimand him but Natsuki chuckled. "Yeah, maybe you're right. Who do I feel really sorry for, I wonder..."

The rag felt cool on his forehead, subduing his fever by just a degree. His head throbbed, but not like earlier. He realized that his stomach felt truly empty and looked forward to Sakura's soup.

When the soup finally arrived, his friends and sister encouraging him to drink it and regain his strength, he wondered idly when Sakura had learned how to make it. It didn't taste quite like his mother's, but it had a sweet flavor all its own. A Sakura flavor.

"Thank you," he told his sister. "Now I'm going to rest. Please don't worry about me from here on out. The worst is over, I think."

His friends nodded and gathered their things. "If there's anything, just call."

A little while later, Sakura made her way to the door. "Don't worry about dinner tonight, brother. I've got it." Then she left.

Pressure built behind Natsuki's eyes and he doubted the fever was to blame. His little sister was growing up after all. Slowly, slowly he fell asleep with a full stomach and a broken heart.

The stars dusted the sky overhead and if he looked close enough he could make out little planets. But they weren't merely colored sparkles, but actual planets, with razor thin rings and hues of greens and blues.

"Welcome back," Coco announced. She was sitting on the sand, which, now that he looked at it, sparkled just like the stars. "Your sister is so cute. I'm jealous."

Natsuki sat next to her. "Why?"

"Well, she knows how to cook for one thing. You know how long it took to teach my brother...? And even now he still can't tell salt from sugar half the time."

"No," Natsuki smiled, imagining a fumbling Haru in the kitchen. "Why are you here? Why am I here? What's the point of all this?"

"Hmm..." Coco dug her hands in the sand. "That's not for me to say. After all, I could just be figment of your fevered brain."

They stayed silent for a time, Natsuki listening to the sound of waves. Wherever he was, that sound was the same as it was in Enoshima. Peaceful, relaxing, permanent.

Before he knew what he was doing, Natsuki gathered his knees together and mumbled into them. "I want to get better."

"What for?" Coco leaned back. "Isn't it nice having people take care of you all the time instead of the other way around? You cook and clean at home, work the shop with Misaki and even on your off time you're a fishing mentor to your friends. You never give yourself a break. The fever is your body's way of telling you that you need one."

Natsuki smiled, but there was no happiness in it. "I guess I could ask for less hours in the shop. It's the slow season right now anyway..."

"Yep! That's the spirit!"

"And Sakura is starting to be a really great cook. She might even be better than me."

"Mmhm. Mmhm."

"But I'm not cutting down on fishing. Not yet."

"You're the fishing prince, after all. Gotta protect your title. Eno-shima-don!" Coco motioned, casting an imaginary line.

Natsuki sighed. He had given up. Let them call him that. In some ways it was true.

"Your father taught you that, didn't he? Enoshimadon." That broke him out of his musings.

"Y-yeah."

"He taught you to fish too, didn't he?"

"Well, yeah." It hadn't been his mother who had taught him the ins and outs of fishing. She hadn't been the one beside him, whispering words of encouragement as he reeled in his first fish and then another and then another. It had been...

"Are you a psychologist or something?"

Coco ran a hand through her hair. "No, but I know one."

He stared out at the landscape before him. The moon was higher and now he couldn't tell sky apart of sea. They melded together, two colors into one, like a rough hand patting his shoulder as he reeled in a fish. "Thatta boy, Natsuki. Don't worry about doing it right. Sometimes you gotta know when to do it your own way."

"Better now?" Coco asked.

Natsuki smiled to himself. "No, not yet. Some things just take longer to heal than fevers."

The beach started to blur before him, swirling blacks and blues. He looked to his side, but the girl was no longer there. The world dismantled itself and he fell into a black space devoid of thought.

He didn't remember waking up, but it was dark and a figure was changing the towel on his head.

"Sorry, did I wake you up?" His father asked.

"No."

He knew his fever had broken. He knew the rag would be more of a discomfort when he tried to fall asleep again. He knew his father's heavy sighs would only make it harder to fall asleep.

Despite this, he didn't tell his father to go away.

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(38°C=100.4°F)

A/N: Something I wrote when I was feeling a little under the weather. Actually, now that I think about it, he only met one person. Oh well.


End file.
